A New Champion Will Be Crowned Today in the 2019 PokerStars APPT Manila National
The final day of the 2019 PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour Manila ₱33,000 National is about to start today, Wednesday, July 31, at 2:00 p.m. local time, and there are 16 players left in the battle to become the new champion, along with the first-place prize of ₱4,174,500 ($81,805).
Leading the pack is Linh Tran, the most successful player remaining to the field, with almost $1.2M in total live earnings, according to Hendon Mob. Tran won't be able to surpass his biggest live cash even if he wins this event, but he will be able to add a second APPT Manila title to his list of accomplishments, having previously won the 2016 APPT Manila Main Event for ₱6,135,000 ($130,191).
Tran has accumulated more than twenty percent of the total chips in play and will start Day 3 with 4,350,000, while his closest competitor has almost half of that. Benigno Jr Ledina is the player sitting second in the chip counts, with 2,570,000, thanks mostly to one of the last hands of Day 2, where he doubled up versus Arravind Udayakumar.
Besides Tran, there is another very successful APPT player in the field, in the form of New Zealand's Tae Hoon Han. Han already has an APPT title in his possession after winning the 2017 PokerStars Festival Incheon Main Event for $72,000. Add to this a seventh-place finish in the recent 2019 PokerStars APPT Jeju Main Event , and it is obvious that there is going to be a tough battle for the National title.
The final day of the National will be multicultural with players from three continents, and 13 different countries.
When play resumes, the starting level will be Level 26: 25,000/50,000 with 50,000 big blind ante. As soon as the final table is set, the levels will go up to 60 minutes, instead of 40 minutes. The tournament will end when a new winner is crowned.
Final Day Seat Draw
| Seat | Table 1 | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ting Shum Kwok | Hong Kong | 255,000 | 5 |
| 2 | Hogyun Kang | South Korea | 1,425,000 | 29 |
| 3 | Linh Tran | Vietnam | 4,350,000 | 87 |
| 4 | Thijs Hilberts | Netherlands | 620,000 | 12 |
| 5 | Yang Li | China | 365,000 | 7 |
| 6 | Arravind Udayakumar | Singapore | 410,000 | 8 |
| 7 | Benigno Jr Ledina | Philippines | 2,570,000 | 51 |
| 8 | Empty | |||
| 9 | Jason Kyle Magbanua | Philippines | 805,000 | 16 |
| Seat | Table 2 | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| 1 | Eran Shaham | Israel | 2,295,000 | 46 |
| 2 | William Kang | United Kingdom | 895,000 | 18 |
| 3 | Tetsuro Tomita | Japan | 805,000 | 16 |
| 4 | Si Yang Phua | Indonesia | 490,000 | 10 |
| 5 | Kok Wei Sim | Malaysia | 320,000 | 6 |
| 6 | Tae Hoon Han | New Zealand | 890,000 | 18 |
| 7 | Lee Wang Yong | South Korea | 2,000,000 | 40 |
| 8 | Jiang Yongbo | China | 1,530,000 | 31 |
| 9 | Empty |
The PokerNews live reporting team will bring you updates today for the final day of the National, plus the ₱500,000 APPT Super High Roller that starts at 3:00 p.m. local time, so stay here for all the action as it unfolds.
, and Han who was left with only five big blinds after the previous hand, called with 
.
, and Sim was left with one big blind.
, and Sim hit the rail, while Kang got back into the game for good.
, and Han is the next player that departs from the field.
with flopped two pair, but Wang Yong have turned a better two pair with 
and Yongbo hit the rail in 12th place.
.
, and Magbanua was left with six big blinds.
